Chapter 108 - Practice Run (1)

Xiong Jingfei immediately pushed Yang Zheyan away from her. He was too close, and her thoughts were in chaos. She can't think straight with his face near hers. She pointed to the other side of the table for him to sit there. Sitting next to her was off-limit! Not after what happened the last time.

Surprisingly, Yang Zheyan immediately complied without throwing a fuss. He sat with his back straight and legs crossed, giving her a different aura compared to his usual self. Someone who is not ordinary. She thought it might be because she became aware he was "the" Yang Zheyan, but that wasn't it. 

She quickly wrote down on the notepad, 'Are you really Yang Zheyan?'

"I can give you my ID if that is what it's going to take for you to believe me?" Yang Zheyan said, taking out his wallet with his ID inside. His ID is with him at all times, but no one ever asked him to hand it over for identification. The card in his hand felt like a foreign object. 

The second he had it out, she seized it for inspection. Xiong Jingfei held her breath. It's true! He is the real Yang Zheyan, so that made him her fiance. Her fingers gripped onto his ID card as she looked up at him. 

Getting up from her seat, she slammed her hands on the table with his ID card underneath one of her hands. Both of them tricked her! Was it fun teasing her? She was actually worried she had a thing with her future husband's cousin! The horrid it cause if someone found out that was true. 

The yellow envelope she brought in with her was slammed on the table next. Scaring the waiter who happened to walk in to take their orders. 

"I- Uh... I am here to take your order?" The waiter stammered, forcing himself to go up to them. Are they in the middle of a fight? He didn't want to have eye contact with the boiling Xiong Jingfei. So when he spoke, he was looking at the calm and welcoming Yang Zheyan. 

Xiong Jingfei cleared her throat and sat back down on her seat. Looking up at the waiter, she smiled and opened the menu book. Flipping through it at an obvious pace that she wasn't reading it.

Yang Zheyan's eyes softened with a visible smirk on his face. He watched as she tried to tuck her hair behind her ears when there was no hair in the way. 

Today, Xiong Jingfei's hair was styled into a spiral ponytail, and she wore a casual pink dress. A dress picked and approved by her father. It gave her a more vibrant and youthful vibe. Yang Zheyan's outfit was on the easygoing side too, and not in his intimidating suit style. 

He replied to the waiter without taking his eyes off Xiong Jingfei, "We're not ready yet." 

"Alright, please take your time." The waiter replied, taking three steps back before closing the door on them. He sighed, aware ahead of time of the identity of the guests he is waiting on. Remembering the instructions given to him, he pulled out his phone. "I have to report this in." 

Yang Zheyan took a glance at the envelope next to his smacked ID, "What is this?" 

Opening the envelope, he took out two doc.u.ments paper-clipped separately. The first doc.u.ment caught his amus.e.m.e.nt, but the second one caused him to frown. Disregarding the first doc.u.ment, his focus was entirely on the second doc.u.ment. Then for a split second, his real self surfaced as he read it out loud. 

"Divorce papers? You want me to sign this before our marriage certificate?"

Xiong Jingfei wished she didn't have to sign divorce papers before her marriage certificate too. No one wants their first marriage or any marriage to end up in a divorce. Just that, this was not a marriage of love but like the term itself, arranged. 

In response to what he said, she handed him a pen. Yang Zheyan's jaw tightly, slightly crumpled the side of the divorce papers. He didn't think the unemotional him was going to ask this, "Is it because of Feng Huan?" 

Xiong Jingfei scrunched up her eyebrows, having no idea why he would bring Feng Huan into this. What they're doing has nothing to do with him. Feng Huan and her indeed went out in the past, but it was in the past. Now, they're nothing more than strangers who happened to bump into each other lately.

Seeing as she didn't deny his question, Yang Zheyan took it as a yes. That day at the mall, he saw how Feng Huan was looking at her. It was a look Yang Zheyan never gave to anyone, and it was enough to tell him that Feng Huan still had feelings for her. Perhaps, between those two it never ended. He noticed it too when Xiong Jingfei was slowly responding to Feng Huan's voice when he called out to her. 

When Feng Huan was slowly approaching her, instead of letting Feng Huan help her. He hurriedly intervened and let himself be that person… Fine, since she wanted to divorce him before they even got married. He will grant her that wish! Yang Zheyan immediately signed the divorce papers.

Xiong Jingfei's hands turned into a fist under the table. He was quick to sign the divorce papers... Of course, why wouldn't he? She may not have someone she likes or is in love with, but she can't say the same goes for him too.

He put the signed doc.u.ment back into the envelope. In a calm like voice, he joked, "This is like a bad omen, wouldn't you say so?" 

Xiong Jingfei shrugged. It was already a bad omen the moment they were arranged to be wife and husband. She received so many problems from Li Roulan and Xiong Changchang all because of him. They were envious of her for getting Yang Zheyan's fame and wealth. If only it was possible, she would gladly switch herself out with Xiong Changchang.

Yang Zheyan took a look at the first doc.u.ment he pulled out that amused him. This one must be the plan Xu Suying came up with the other night. A marriage contract between them? 

Scanning through, he found them to be reasonable but didn't like them. Such as no touching unless they were in a public place, and needed to show it to others. Do not interfere with each other's business. No sleeping together, and this includes sharing the same bedroom. In other words, they will act like a married couple in public. However, behind closed doors, they weren't. 

He looked back up at her, who was waiting for him to sign the second doc.u.ment. A marriage between them will last between a year or two. It depends on when it will seem appropriate to announce they're getting a divorce. She is willing to do all of this for Feng Huan? 

His heart was feeling weird, so he immediately signed the contract between them. Except, it only made him feel worse than before. 

Having both the doc.u.ments signed, Xiong Jingfei finally smiled. That smile of hers didn't feel as lovely as it used to be. She smiled because he signed the papers... It was just another jab at his weird heart. 

She wrote down, 'I will give you a copy. Please keep this a secret between us.'

"Leaving so soon?" Yang Zheyan's warm spring breeze like voice turned into a frozen ice glacier. "I guess you don't want your tablet and drawing anymore?"

Xiong Jingfei, this time did not forget that he didn't return those to things yet. She sat quietly and waited for him to give it back, but he didn't. 

Instead, he reached over and rang the bell for the waiter. His voice returned to how it was before, "Shouldn't we have a practice run at this fake marriage?" 

Almost immediately, in came the waiter whose main job today was to solely serve them. As arranged by Yang Zheyan's grandfather to ensure today's meeting went well. It wasn't going well, but he couldn't sense that due to Yang Zheyan's kind smile. 

Yang Zheyan ordered a bunch of items as if he memorized the entire menu already. Turning to Xiong Jingfei, he smiled, "Is there anything else you want, darling~?"

Xiong Jingfei stiffens at hearing how he intimately addresses her. He was good at getting into character right away, unlike her. She cracked a small smile and shook her head. Everything he ordered was plenty and more than what both of them can consume. 

Xiong Jingfei was used to eating little portions after growing up in an environment with Li Roulan. There were days that she wouldn't get to eat as punishment. It was hard now for her to digest a lot of food without making her feel sick. In a more severe case, it would cause her to vomit it all back out.